In the conventional construction of wood frame buildings, the floors are supported by an array of parallel framing joists in a spaced apart relationship. Conventionally, these joists are constructed of dimensioned lumber, that is, lumber that is nominally two inches thick and an even number, such as eight, ten, or twelve, inches wide and having a length sufficient to span the area to be filled. However, it is presently becoming more common to engineer joists from other materials, such as open trusses, I-joists, glued laminates, and metal. The joists are placed having their longer dimension in a vertical plane and are separated by a fixed distance, typically sixteen, 19.2 or twenty-four inches. The spacing is center of the top face of two adjacent joists and is expressed as sixteen, 19.2, or twenty-four inches on center.
In interior construction the joists form the base for an interior floor and are typically covered with four foot by eight foot sheets of plywood or oriented strand board forming a continuous top surface while leaving rectangular open spaces below, between each pair of adjacent joists. Frequently, the lower surface of the joists is covered becoming the ceiling of the rooms below.
In exterior construction, such as a deck, the joists are covered with spaced apart planking. The planking is fastened to the joists having a small space between any two planks for esthetic considerations, and more importantly, to allow the planking to shed rain water. When the deck is constructed a distance above grade, this leaves an open area below the deck which could be used for storage, were the area not open the rain and other elements.
The invention disclosed herein is hangers and pans for enclosing the open spaces between each pair of adjacent joists. Hangers are attached on each side of the joist space and a pan is placed therebetween providing a continuous top over the area below the deck which allows the storage of water sensitive items in this area.
The improved preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a two part hanger with one part securable to the joist and the second part securable to the pan. The first hanger part is selectively securable to the second hanger part. The first hanger part may include mechanism for selectively detaching the first and second hanger parts. The second hanger part may include mechanism for stabilizing the system in high winds. The pan may include mechanism for cutting the pan for width adjustment and mechanism for fine tuned width adjustment.